Pokemon Divine Legacy Book 5: Lighting the Future
by Maximus Prime 802
Summary: A voyage across the sea, to a city long forgotten. What secrets lie beneath the waves is a mystery as nobility will be tested and secrets will be revealed that will change the battlefield forever as the final riddle to the Palace of Light is revealed
1. Like Father like Son

"You have performed very well my son, now that you have destroyed Red." Giovanni complimented Silver over his Video Phone.

Silver was in the Pokémon Center in Viridian City using the public Video Phone to speak to Giovanni. He despised the dark life his father chose to live and as such, made himself distant in every way possible. However, the two shared a common enemy in the Ultimate Pokémon Master and that was the only thing that kept them connected. Otherwise, Silver would have turned his father over to the authorities.

"And where is your evidence to support this theory?" Silver asked his father, in a rather interrogative tone.

"You are aware of Team Galactic's 'no prisoners' rule" Giovanni explained, "And seeing as he is just as much of a threat to them as he is to us, I doubt he is still alive."

Silver grew furious to hear his father boast about a victory that he was not guaranteed to have, in a desperate effort to appeal to his son. The young man had hoped that his father's experiences in battling Red would hamper his overconfidence.

"ENOUGH! You pride yourself on being superior!" Silver shouted as he stood up from his seat, "Yet you have learned nothing from your encounters with Red! When will you learn that he is not so easily destroyed! There's a reason he has brought your gang to its knees!"

It was clear that Silver had struck a nerve when he mentioned Team Rocket's current state. It seemed as though every time Team Rocket planned to rule the world, Red was there to thwart them. And the one time it wasn't Red, it was some pest from Pallet Town named Ash Ketchum. Now because of their constant failures, the crime gang was on the verge of going completely bankrupt. It seemed as though Kageshi's stubbornness was hereditary.

Giovanni clenched his fist in anger, that boy took everything from him. Now he was going to take his long awaited revenge on the Ultimate Pokémon Master. No matter what it took, or who had to be eliminated in the process.

"I have not seen you make much progress in his demise." Giovanni spat back.

"Do not speak to me like I am one of your petty slaves!" Silver roared back, "Next time I find Red, he will die!"

His vow made, Silver hung up the Video Phone and departed the Center, off to find his oldest nemesis and make him suffer.

Giovanni sat at his desk, feeling joy that his son fell for his ploy. Had he said yes to his father's proposal years ago, he would be a fine Elite Rocket Agent at that moment.

"He has his mother's determination" Giovanni said to himself as he turned his chair around to look out over the rocky surface of Mt. Moon.


	2. Lyra

**May's Log entry 3:**

_ The mission is going over well so far. Ash and Cynthia went to Stark Mountain and succeeded in destroying the Griseous Orb, the source of Giratina's power, and Ash was reunited with Charizard. Meanwhile Dawn discovered that she could generate force fields, which were put to good use when we were attacked by Kyurem, who is allied with Giratina. As for me, my little brother Max is accompanying us and my Blaziken recently Mega Evolved. Right now, we've just arrived in the Ransei Region where we hope to find the sunken city of Fontaine around its coast and find the Sacred Light, which holds the next riddle._

****Under the light of the mid day sun, Red stood patiently at the edge of the docks awaiting for Ash and Cynthia's arrival. Behind him May and Dawn were sitting on a bench a few meters behind him, while Brock and Max were looking at a map of the Ransei Region. Piplup sat on Dawn's lap looking up at his Trainer, while May sat next to her. Pika sat on his Trainer's still shoulder, also awaiting Pikachu's arrival, the Pokémon watched Pikachu battle and had developed a trust in the experienced Pokémon that came to be a younger brother figure to him.

****Like his comrades, Red had never been to the Ransei Region. He had journeyed through every region in the nation except for this one. There were many reasons for him never being to this region, but the most predominant one was that there was no Pokémon League Championship in this region. There were very few regions that did not have a connection to the Pokémon League Council, this the one of those few regions. There were not even any major cities in the Ransei Region, all that existed were a few small town that were scattered over the remains of several kingdoms.

In the ancient times, the Ransei Region was divided into seventeen kingdoms, each one based around one of the unique Pokémon Types. The kingdoms had been uneasy with one another long before the Platinum Wars, readying to spring into war at any given moment. One would hope that the war would bring the feuding kingdoms together against a common enemy, but all it did was cause them to be even more hostile to another. That may've been one of the reasons why the Sacred Light was fought over for so long and moved from kingdom to kingdom. It may've been more than a weapon in their eyes, it could've been a symbol of power, or that Arceus was always looking down on them from above. All the more reason to Red why he wanted to find it, even if only Dawn could see it.

Tight in his hand, Red held two train tickets, reserved for Ash and Cynthia. It was by train that the small towns got all their necessary resources. Trains was also how people in this region visited the other towns, very few people here actually had cars. This sort of quant humble feeling of the region made Red feel more comfortable to be here than in any other region.

The Ultimate Pokémon Master's waiting finally came to its end as he saw the bow of a boat coming in, and Ash was standing at the edge, with Pikachu on his shoulder. The trainer was waving his arms and shouting out to his friends to get their attention. Dawn and May looked up to see Ash's boat coming into port and they sprung off the bench to run up and meet him up close.

As the boat pulled up to the docks and its doors opened, Ash was the first to get off the boat. he raced down the steps and was quick to reunite with his friends. It would appear as though he had gotten over the loss of Misty, but Dawn knew that he was still being haunted. His external enthusiasm was his way of making it seem to his friends that his emotional wounds were healed, but this could not escape Dawn's priestess soul gaze, or Red's instincts.

"Where's Cynthia?" Red asked his friend.

"She went back to Celestic Town to research Giratina." Ash explained.

"What is Cynthia getting ready for." Dawn asked out loud.

"Is she expecting Giratina to win?" May asked herself.

"Looks like she's starting to take this mission extremely seriously" Brock deduced.

"What mission?" a voice asked the group from behind. The voice seemed familiar to Ash, Dawn and Brock, but not to Red, May or Max. All six of them turned around, only to come face to face with a familiar trainer from the Johto Region.

"Lyra?" Dawn asked, astounded to see her again. She and a friend of hers from the Johto Region accompanied Ash, Dawn and Brock on a small part of their journey through the Sinnoh Region. They had developed a strong friendship before Lyra and her friend had to return to the Johto Region. With the exception of her new Wallace hat, Lyra looked very much the same as she was, when she last saw Ash and the others. Lyra introduced herself to Red, May and Max who were quick to shake her hand.

"It's good to see you again after all these years Dane." Lyra never did quite get Dawn's name right, "So what was that you guys were saying about a mission?"

"Well it's just that we need to find a legendary Pal*" Max's explanation was cut short by an electric shock from Pika. This was the small Pokémon's way of remembering their new recruit that their mission was of the utmost top secret.

"What Max means is that our mission is to..." May tried to think up an excuse, but her mind had drawn a blank, she couldn't think of what she could say that could convince Lyra. May had no idea whether she was a cunning strategist, or a certified half wit.

"Our mission to find a contest hall in Coral Town" Dawn reasoned, "There's a contest there in a few days, I'm entering."

"The last time I saw you in a contest you were awesome" Lyra complimented, "Can I tag along to watch you?"

Red was uncertain as to how he should answer her. If he said no then she would most likely suspect something if her could not answer her. If he said yes, then she would end up being enthralled in a war against the ultimate evil. Red had to think about how he would answer her. After a mere few seconds of planning, Red finally came to a conclusion.

"Of course." Red answered.

"Of course?" Dawn asked surprised, "Can I see you in private Red?"

The two trainers stepped back a few meters from the others. Dawn moved in close to Red and she began harshly whispering to him.

"What're you doing?" Dawn asked, "How are we going to explain to her that I have sacred powers and that we're hoping to awaken the god of everything so he can defeat an insane Pokémon?"

"We won't" Red explained, "Once we get to the town, you use your powers to knock her out and wipe her memories."

"I can't do that!" Dawn replied shockingly, "It's unethical!"

"It's better than saying no and letting her get suspicious." Red reasoned calmly.

Dawn knew that he was right. If Lyra grew suspicious then there would be no doubt that she would follow them and discover the true nature of their visit to the Region. If Lyra uncovered the truth of their reasons for being in the Ransei Region, then she would accompany them and run the risk of being hurt. The only reason Max was with them was because he had an innate knowledge of Pokémon that Red believed would be useful to them in the future.

Red was right, this was the only way to ensure their mission is left incognito. Dawn was not pleased with this though. She did not want to go behind a friend's back only to wipe her mind later on, but if it meant protecting her, then she would regretfully go through with it.

"Okay, I'll do it" Dawn agreed.


	3. Train

The train departed an hour later, Ash and the others boarded twenty minutes earlier to ensure they would not be late. As the train started going down the tracks, picking up speed, the movements of the train became less bumpy and more rhythmic and smooth. Soon the train began moving so quickly that no one on board could even feel the movements of the train as it raced down the tracks.

Dawn and Lyra spent the entire train ride talking about how Lyra was inspired by Ash and her to do both gym battles and Pokémon Contests. Lyra said that she enjoyed the thrill of gym battles and the showmanship of contests and couldn't decide which one to pick, so she decided to do both. Brock was saying that it was a good idea, his explanation was that gym battles strengthened her Pokémon, while Pokémon contests ensured that she would keep her Pokémon in prime health and condition. May was explaining how she at first didn't enjoy the company of Pokémon but it was due to contests that she soon became very fond of them.

Red said nothing throughout the train ride. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts about Silver. Past battles with his 'rival' proved that this Trainer would not accept defeat that easily, he would strike again at any given moment. A battle against Silver was not something Red or the others needed, they were already constantly on the run from Giratina's Antimon (Which he evolved to take on the forms of Legendary Pokémon). Every battle he endured against Silver would make the team be stalled for time, so Red had to finish these battles as quickly as he could by using his most powerful Pokémon first to end the battle sooner.

Still it pained Red to think about what the two of them had become, once they were brothers and now the most sworn of enemies. On the day Silver turned against Red and the other Pokédex Keepers (As they were known as due to owning the most advanced Pokédexes in the world), Silver challenged Red's leadership and demanded that they join him. Silver became heartbroken when none of them sided with him. Not even Leaf, who shared the same tormented past as he did, sided with him. Not a day went by when Red didn't question whether Leaf would've been better off had she gone with Silver. Then maybe perhaps, Silver would not have been the bitter, cold hearted Trainer he was then. Then maybe perhaps, Leaf would've inspired the others to join Silver and they all would still be alive.

The sun had finally set, and night had settled around the still moving train. The train made a stop at Rivermill Station to resupply. Brock and May saw this as a chance to resupply themselves. Their previous battles had all but exhausted their medicine and food reserves and they were in dire need of a restock. While Brock, Max and May left to gather food and medicine, Ash, Dawn, and Lyra stayed in their box and waited for them.

Red however, was not going to just wait around for the others to return with groceries. He decided it would be best to take to take this as an opportunity to scout the other cars to make sure no enemies would take this stop as an opportunity to sneak aboard the train. To cover it up to Lyra, Red explained to the others that he just wanted to stretch his legs.

Red walked up and down the cars of the train, eyes darting in every direction, and enemy could be behind every corner. To him every shadow seemed to be a dangerous Pokémon at first glance. Under the cover of darkness, an enemy could be behind every corner, awaiting the moment when Red would get too close, then strike.

_I know you're here_ Red thought, _And I will find you_


	4. Red vs Silver

At the PokéMart, May, Max and Brock had all but finished their shopping. They had completely resupplied, and with Max part of their team now they needed more on several resources, food and medicine for his two Pokémon. Although he was young, he was a skilled Trainer and battler, assets Red found to be very useful for their team. The boy had not only watched Ash and May battle when he was younger, but he also trained in battling under his father who was the Petalburg City Gym leader. This already gave him quite an advantage among other fresh starting trainers.

As they began departing the PokéMart and stepped onto the train platform, the whistle of the train blew into the air. Followed quickly by the conductor yelling 'All Aboard".

"That's the train!" May shouted in alarm, "It's taking off!"

"Then quit talking and start running!" Max shouted as the three of them bolted across the platform as the training slowly began to pull out.

"Get ready to jump!" Brock warned the two siblings behind him. As the steps onto a train car got close enough to Brock, he leapt forward. As his foot extended out touched onto the steps, he tossed his weight forward and got the other foot onto the steps, securing his place on the train.

May and Max were too late to get onto the same steps as Brock and forced to wait until the next car. Once the train got close enough May replicated just what Brock did and leapt onto the steps of the car. However not without making a mistake, when she pulled her leg back, she unintentionally swung it too far back and kicked Max in the chest forcing him to the ground. By the time May boarded the train, she finally realized what she had done.

"Max! Hurry!" May shouted from one of the open windows, her voice fading into the night.

By the time Max had gotten back to his feet, three more train cars had passed by. Only four more cars were still in the platform and the train began picking up speed. At the way Max saw them, he would not be able to get back on the train before it began moving at a quick enough speed to fully pull out of the platform. But Max had another idea, he grabbed a PokéBall off his belt and opened it, releasing Grovyle.

"Grovyle, use your Quick Attack and get us onto the train!" Max commanded. His green reptilian Pokémon grabbed onto its trainer and charged for the train at incredibly high speed, leaving a trail of dust behind them. Before charging forward, Grovyle targeted the open steps on the last car of the train, its accuracy was correct and it landed perfectly on the steps.

"Thanks for that Grovyle" Max complimented as his Pokémon gently placed him back on the ground. Max called his Pokémon back to its PokéBall and then continued down the train car.

As the rookie Trainer crossed through three cars, it was surprising for him that there was no one else in any of them. This coupled with the fact that the lights in these train cars were out, gave Max a crushing feeling of loneliness, but he knew he wasn't truly alone, he had his Golem and Grovyle with him.

Finally, Max reached the cargo car. He knew that once he got past this car there was bound to be people in the cars thereafter. As with the other ones, the lights in this cars were out. The light of the full moon broke through the slits in the wooden walls of the cargo car, creating an eerie glow. Boxes were piled around the back wall of the car, creating a wide open space in the center. Judging by how poorly they were stacked, Max deduced that they were stacked like that on purpose by someone. A thousand possibilities for the reason why ran through his mind, few were logical or for positive reasons. Struck with sudden terror, the boy ran for the door across the car.

He grabbed the handle and frantically pulled it, to no prevail. Max looked at the reason why it wouldn't open and saw that the opening mechanism on the door had fused to the wall. This had to be someone else's doing. Max assumed that whoever stacked the boxes also sealed the door, meaning they could still be in the same car as him.

"Golem I choose you!" Max declared as he opened his Rock Pokémon's PokéBall. Golem stood in front of its Trainer, bent on protecting him.

"I know you're still here!" Max shouted out into the empty space of the cargo car, "Show yourself!"

There was a long pause, no response came to Max. After a few seconds, he assumed that it was just his imagination and he was alone in the car. Max prepared to call Golem back before he heard a young man's voice calling out to him.

"If you insist" The boxes along the wall burst in all directions, followed by a cloud of dust that shrouded the entire car. As the dust settled and slipped through the slits in the wall of the train, a fearsome Pokémon emerged which Max was quick to identify.

"Feraligatr!" Max shouted in alarm. This Pokémon was far bigger than any other members of its species and was littered with scars that covered his body which made him look all the more horrifying. Seconds later, his Trainer stepped out from behind the scattered boxes. His hair was a blood red and he wore a deep purple jacket. His face seemed to show no sign of emotion, making him all the more terrifying to Max.

"Pokémon that prey on humans are very rare" the Trainer commented, "However, they can be trained to do so."

"I'm not scared of you!" Max shouted, "Golem use Rock Smash!"

Golem's fist began to glow as it leapt forward at the Feraligatr. Before it could even thrust its fist at his chest, the Trainer was quick to call out a command.

"Hydro Cannon" Feraligatr jumped out of the way of the oncoming attack and spewed a highly concentrated blast of water from its mouth which struck Golem. The water pressed against its body felt like thousands of razors digging into its armored body. It didn't help that Golem's Rock Type was very weak against Feraligatr's Water Type attacks.

Feraligatr couldn't keep up the Hydro Cannon and finally stopped. When the water finally settled, it revealed that Golem was knocked unconscious.

"Oh no Golem! Return!" Max shouted as he called Golem back to its PokéBall. Max grabbed Grovyle's PokéBall off his belt and prepared to release the Pokémon when the Trainer stopped him.

"Do you honestly assume that you can best me, with only one Pokémon?" The Trainer asked mockingly, "I still have all six of mine, you've seen the power of just one, regardless of whether or not Feraligatr is strong against your next Pokémon I will overwhelm you with sheer numbers."

Max pondered the Trainers words, he was right. Even though Grovyle was strong against Water Types, there was no guarantee the Trainer didn't have other Pokémon that were still stronger than Grovyle. The Grass Type Pokémon would spend all of its energy just trying to best its opponents, leaving it vulnerable to the Trainers other Pokémon. Out of options, Max put the PokéBall back on his belt.

"But I don't want to hurt you. The last thing I need to do is lower myself to a lowly criminal." The Trainer commented, "I will forfeit the battle, if you do something for me."

"What do you want?" Max asked almost defiantly.

"You are to lead me to Red" The Trainer demanded, "I know he is here."

Max began to question why this Trainer wanted to find Red, but slowly he began piecing this Trainer's identity together in his mind. The vicious Feraligatr, a heartless expression and a grudge against Red. He couldn't be anyone else, he had to be the Trainer May told him about, the most vicious of all time.

"You're Silver!" Max deduced.

"Correct" Silver confirmed, "If you know who I am then you must know that I have a low tolerance for Trainers playing hero, now take me to Red."

"Never!" Max shouted back, "I'll never sell out a friend to you!"

"Then I will let him come to me. " Silver commented, with a wave of his hand Feraligatr began to attack Max. Silver sat on a tipped over box to watch the grim spectacle, awaiting Red to come and save his little friend.

Feraligatr swung his claws at Max, the boy narrowly dodged being ripped to shreds as he leapt for the still functioning door. Feraligatr moved faster jumping over him and landing between Max and his only chance at freedom. In a desperate measure for cover, Max jumped behind the pile of boxes to avoid Feraligatr's powerful jaws.

Max spotted that one of the boxes had been torn open and a nail gun had fallen out of it and rope. The smart Trainer began formulating a plan as he began tying one end of the rope to a very large nail that was lying on the ground. His plan was to shoot the large nail into the ceiling and then using the rope attached to it, swing over Feraligatr and escape through the still useful door. It was his only hope, it had to work.

Max aimed the nail gun at the ceiling, careful as to stay behind the boxes to avoid being spotted by Feraligatr. Max prepared to fire, as he squeezed the trigger, Feraligatr crashed through the boxes and lunged for Max. In the excitement of the surprise attack Max misfired, the nail soared through the air as the rope slid off it and it struck Feraligatr in his right eye.

The vicious Pokémon reared his head back in pain as he clawed at his own face before the nail finally fell out. Still seeing his chance, Max made a mad dash for the door. Feraligatr spotted him leaving and fired another Hydro Cannon at him. The water blast struck the ground at Max's feet and sent him flying through the air.

Max hit the ground, in his dazed state he tried getting back to his feet before Feraligatr pinned him below one of its massive feet. The Pokémon looked down at his struggling prey with a combination of satisfaction and rage. The weak little human had no chance to escape and was at his mercy, all he needed was Silver's approval to finish the job.

"Scream for Red " Silver recommended his opponent. Feraligatr opened its mouth, revealing its large and terrifying teeth, and prepared to end the boy's life.

Before Feraligatr could attack, it found itself being sent flying through the cargo hold by an unknown attack from right in front of it. The Pokémon looked up to see Chars standing in the cargo hold, with Red standing behind him in the entrance through the functioning doorway.

"Just as I predicted" Silver commented as he stood up and walked over to Feraligatr, who was getting back to his feet.

"Attacking me is one thing, but when you attack one of my friends, that's when I have to act." Red commented as he stepped aside to allow Ash, Dawn, Brock, May and Lyra into the cargo car. May immediately ran over to Max and helped him get back to his feet.

"Are you alright Max?" May asked in a very worried voice.

"I am now that you guys are here." Max commented.

Once Max got back to his feet, May grabbed his hand and ran behind Red as not to get in the way of the oncoming conflict.

"One shall stand" Red began.

"One shall fall" Silver finished.

Feraligatr charged at Chars, its mouth open wide, bent on ripping his opponent's wings off. Chars leapt out of the way, using another Dragon Claw attack and striking Feraligatr in the stomach pushing it back.

Chars used an Air Slash attack, the Shurikens sliced through the air. But Feraligatr dodged them and unleashed another Hydro Cannon. The jet of water hit Chars and sent the Pokémon tumbling to the ground.

Seeing a chance, Feraligatr leapt at Chars, its claws primed to shred the Flame Pokémon to pieces. Chars thrust his legs forward, harshly kicking Feraligatr and sending him to the ground.

Chars charged at Feraligatr, the Water Type was quick to get back to his feet as the two grabbed onto each other's shoulders and began to push against one another. Chars finally gained the upper hand, swinging Feraligatr over his head and tossing him to the ground.

Chars leapt into the air, using his wings to keep him aloft he prepared to use a Blast Burn. But Feraligatr recovered quickly, leaping forward and biting down hard on Chars' tail. The flying Pokémon let out a roar of pain as Feraligatr swung Chars out of the air and tossed him towards the ground. Chars hit with so much force that it cracked the floor.

That blow had greatly wounded Chars, he was in so much pain that he could not get back up to fight. Silver saw this as an advantage.

"Finish him." Silver commanded.

Feraligatr lunged at Chars, holding out its claws, ready to attack. Red was not going to allow this to happen. He jumped forward at Chars leaping right in between him and Feraligatr at the right moment. As Feraligatr swung his claws down, the struck Red in his chest and shoulders. The Pokémon Master fell to the ground bearing deep wounds from the attack.

"Red No!" Ash shouted in terror. Dawn knew that she could save him. His sacrifice was not for her, but for Chars so her powers could heal him.

"Hang on Red I'm coming!" Dawn shouted as she ran towards him.

"Not so fast" Silver commented as he opened a PokéBall on his belt and released Sneasel. The Ice Type Pokémon used its Blizzard attack, targeting Dawn. The force of the fast winds of the Blizzard forced Dawn back against the wall. When the winds died down she saw that her right forearm was encased in ice and stuck to the wall.

"No!" Dawn shouted in horror.

"Now no one will stand in my way" Silver bravely commented.

"Except for me Goth" Lyra commented as she grabbed a PokéBall off her belt and opened it revealing her Meganium.

"That lumbering Pokémon doesn't scare me" Silver mocked.

"You'd be surprised" Lyra commented before commanding, "Meganium Use Energy Ball!"

Meganium formed a ball of green energy in its mouth before firing it at Feraligatr. The Water Type was already weakened from the battle against Chars and wasn't fast enough to evade the attack. The Energy Ball hit Feraligatr and forced him to the ground.

"Now Meganium use Petal Dance" Lyra commanded. Meganium began to dance, releasing petals from the inside of the large pink flower around its neck. The petals began to fly through the air, striking Feraligatr like Shurikens. The Vicious Pokémon could not compete with the great speed of the petals and once more fell to the ground.

"Alright then! Sneasel destroy that Meganium with Blizzard!" Silver ordered. Sneasel inhaled deeply and prepared to released icy gale force winds and ice shards before it was intercepted.

"Charizard use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded as he released his Fire Type from its PokéBall. Charizard blasted Sneasel with a continual stream of fire. The Pokémon had never experienced flames this intense and had no way of protecting itself. Completely drained of energy, Sneasel collapsed unconscious.

"Let's finish this Meganium!" Lyra commanded, "Use Solar Beam!"

The pink flower around Meganium's neck began to glow. To gather power for a Solar Beam, Meganium would draw upon sunlight to photosynthesize it into energy and then release that energy in one devastating blast. Due to the large flower Meganium had, it only took a few seconds to charge a Solar Beam when in sunlight, however because this battle was at night, Meganium had to charge power from the moonlight which took longer. Silver hoped this would work in his favour.

"Feraligatr, get up and kill Meganium and Chars!" Silver demanded. Feraligatr struggled to get back to his feet, the continual Grass Type attacks had drained most the Pokémon's strength. Barely, the Pokémon got back to its feet and turned to face the Meganium, however he was too late.

Meganium's power had charged to full capacity and it fired a Beam of purified energy out of its mouth. The blast hit Feraligatr and sent the Pokémon tumbling to the ground. The impact from the Solar Beam knocked the wind out of the vicious Pokémon, this alongside of wounds received from Meganium's previous attacks and his battle with Chars had done it and he did not have the strength to continue the battle. Even after striking Feraligatr, Meganium's Solar Beam kept soaring through the air until it struck the wall of the cargo hold and blew it out of the train.

Silver called his unconscious Pokémon back to its PokéBall and grabbed another off his belt. The cold glare in his eyes revealed that he was trying his best to conceal his rage. He was one of the most powerful Trainers in the world, how could his terrifying Feraligatr lose to such a non threatening Pokémon, owned by a small child? He was going to end this battle once and for all.

"Let's see how well your Pokémon stands up to my Psychic Master!" Silver boasted as he opened the PokéBall to reveal his Alakazam.

"You can take on Meganium" Ash began as he grabbed a PokéBall.

"But can you deal with all of us?" May finished as she released Blaziken. At the same time, Ash released Charizard and Brock had released Forretress.

All four Pokémon glared at Alakazam and Silver. Alakazam knew that even if it defeated one Pokémon, it would not be able to combat three others, especially if they attacked it at once. This was not a battle it could win and it hoped Silver would look past his pride to see that.

"You know we cannot win" Alakazam said to Silver, using its psychic powers to send its thoughts into Silver's mind, "There is only one way out"

"This is not the end" Silver warned as he turned and ran for the massive breach in the cargo car, Alakazam followed him. The deadly Trainer jumped out alongside his Psychic Pokémon. Using its powers Alakazam stopped them from colliding with the ground and the two of them began to levitate and fly through the air.

"We'll meet again Red!" Silver shouted as he and Alakazam faded into the dark of the night.


	5. A New Ally

One quick thrust of its fist, while using Rock Smash, and Croagunk successfully shattered the ice that entombed Dawn's forearm. Brock rushed to her side to analyze her forearm and see if the frigid ice had caused any harm. Every time Brock poked her red wrist she reacted as though he had slashed her hand off. It was obvious that prolonged stay surrounded by searing cold ice had taken its toll on Dawn.

"Looks like you've got frostbite on your wrist" Brock warned.

"Don't worry about me, I've got to help Red" Dawn protested. She rushed to Red's side, as he still lay on the ground, motionless but still alive. Finally Dawn got a firsthand glimpse at the severity of his injuries. They were much deeper than she first thought and judging by the puddle around him, it was clear that he had lost a lot of blood. Red didn't have much longer.

"I have work fast" Dawn said as she pulled his red vest off gently. With Pika's help she was capable of pulling his shirt off to get closer to his slash wounds.

Dawn placed her hands on them and concentrated, focusing her power into her hands as they began to glow. That glow worked its way out of her hands and into Red's wounds, as the glow began to get brighter, Red's wound began to seal. Dawn had to work through the pain in her wrist, the more she healed him, the more painful her wrist got.

Lyra had never seen anything like this before. She had no idea what was happening and seemed to be both shocked and terrified by what she was seeing. Although she knew Dawn for a very short time, she got to know her well enough to know that she couldn't possibly have special powers. As Dawn kept healing Red, Lyra stood there watching, her mouth hanging ajar.

Finally, the glow faded to reveal that Red's wounds had disappeared, as he stirred back into consciousness. Red was quickly met by Chars who was rubbing his head against Red's chest as a sign of affection.

"What was that? What just happened?" Lyra asked frantically, "Why was Dane glowing and why was Red glowing? What's going on here?!"

"We'll explain that later." Max promised.

"Thank you Dawn" Red complimented as he turned to see Dawn gripping her wrist in pain. Red immediately sprung into action.

"What happened?" Red said to her as he ran up beside her.

"Silver's Sneasel froze Dawn's hand to the wall" Ash informed.

"And now she has frostbite on her wrist" May concluded very worried, "And she can't heal herself like she did with you."

"Ash we need Oshawott's help, May get a metal bucket, Chars prepare to use the flame on your tail." Red ordered. Each of them went to work, May grabbed the only intact metal bucket from the cargo behind them and Ash released Oshawott.

Red told Ash to tell Oshawott to use its Water Gun to fill the bucket, while Brock held it by its handle over the flame on Char's tail until steam began to rise from it.

"Now bring it here" Red instructed as he held Dawn's injured wrist. Brock placed the bucket next to Red and stepped back to see what he would do.

"This might be uncomfortable at first" Red warned Dawn. The Pokémon Master stuck his hand into the hot water, when he brought it out, he gently put his wet hand on Dawn's red wrist and began to rub it, spreading the hot water all over her frostbitten wrist. Dawn was surprised by the sensation.

"Actually it's pretty soothing" Dawn responded. Red continued spreading hot water on her wrist. When the water would start cooling down, Dawn would have her Quilava heat it up again with its flaming quills. Piplup sat close to Dawn for companionship, although Dawn did not truly need it, she was with Red after all.

Ash explained their quest to find the Palace of Light so they could awaken Arceus and defeat Giratina to Lyra who listened well. Ash went on to explain the Platinum Wars, the Guardian Priestesses and the Sacred Knights and even the Antimon to her. The Trainer even went so far as to tell her of some of their past events during their quest, events such as Misty being taken by Giratina, the evolution of the Antimon and the attack at Sky Pillar as well as the battle at Stark Mountain where he was reunited with Charizard. Once Ash was finished explaining Lyra came to a conclusion.

"Let me come with you" Lyra offered, "You've seen how good I am in a battle, Meganium took out Silver's nastiest Pokémon."

"That means he'll come after you as well" Red explained, before realizing his words worked in her favour, "And it would be smart of you to travel with friends, like us."

"Exactly" Lyra added, "Plus, if you guys really are waging war to save the world, then you'll need all the Trainers you can get."

"Well I suppose it's a smart idea to have more Trainers on our side" Max theorized.

"The Antimon have us outnumbered a thousand to one, we'll need help wherever we can get it" Brock added.

"And it'll be good to be with old friends again" Dawn added.

"I'm fine with it" Red concluded.

"I guess you're one of us now Lyra" May said as she high fived her.

Red stopped caressing Dawn's wrist and looked to see that the swelling and redness had gone down.

"That should be enough" Red concluded as he got up and walked over to the gaping hole in the cargo hold, keeping watch.

Dawn still sat on the ground, looking at her wrist, it felt much better than before. Lyra sat down next to her and the two began to converse.

"How does your wrist feel?"

"It feels great, thanks to Red" Dawn answered, "I'd love to find out how he knew that would work"

"Yeah, that Red is quite a catch isn't he?" Lyra asked, louring Dawn into a trap.

"Yeah he sure…Wait! What're you talking about?!" Dawn responded frantically.

"Come on Dane, I saw how you and Red were looking at each other with that puppy dog look." Lyra teased.

"But me and Red? We're complete opposites!" Dawn protested.

"Exactly, opposites attract" Lyra explained, "Red's cold as ice and you're the flame that would melt his heart."

"I'm sure that Red already met someone and lost her a long time ago." Dawn explained, "I don't want him to go through that pain again, especially if I don't make it back after this."

"Oh yes, that little stab to all those people out there pro Lucky Shipping" Lyra concluded, "Don't worry, Red won't let you die. Just wait time will show his true feelings for you, especially if I give it a little push."

Charizard helped Chars back to his feet. Chars was certainly much larger than Charizard and judging by his appearance, a more experienced fighter. Ash took a glance at the two Charizards expecting a vicious fight to break out, one that Ash and Red would have to separate by calling the Pokémon back to their PokéBalls. Instead it seemed as though the two Pokémon were getting along very well, judging by their patterns of roars and growls, Ash deduced that they were conversing. The young Trainer was relieved that there would be no conflict and pleased to see that Charizard was getting along so well with another of his kind, something he had trouble doing when he first entered the Charicific Valley.

"Looks like all that training with Liza helped Charizard tolerate others of his kind." Ash commented to himself.

Red sat on the edge of the hole of the cargo car, looking out as the full moon's light cast bizarre shadows across the open woodlands around the rapidly moving train. Ash took up a seat next to him with Pikachu, followed quickly by May, Max and Brock. Dawn walked over to them, holding Piplup and sat next to Red, while Lyra sat next to her.

"Another full moon" Red commented.

"I know, that means time is running out." Brock added, "We have to find Fontaine as soon as possible."

"What's Fontaine?" Lyra asked, Ash left that part out when he was explaining their quest.

"It's a mythical lost city in the Ransei Region." Dawn explained, "Legends states it's at the bottom of the ocean.

"Oh, okay" It took a few seconds before Dawn's words to sink in for Lyra, 'Bottom of the Ocean?! Ooh I'm Dying!" Lyra grabbed her chest and pretended to be having a heart attack. To reach a city at the bottom of the ocean seemed impossible for anyone, she hoped Red had a plan.

Something about Red's past was preying on Ash's mind. He finally summed up the courage to ask him. At first Ash didn't know if Red would take offence to the question, but now he was sure the Pokémon Master wouldn't.

"Red there's something I want to know" Ash began. Red said nothing as Ash finally asked the question, "Who's Silver? and why does he hate you so much?"

"It's about time you knew and it's better you hear it from me than him" Red explained as he began his tale.

"It all began after I won at the Kanto Pokémon League, me and my friends decided to explore the Johto Region for Gym Battles and new Pokémon. When we got there we met a trainer who seemed to have a very troubled past, Silver. Silver vowed to become the greatest Pokémon Trainer of all time, in a desperate effort to gain an identity. I took him under my wing and became a mentor to him. Silver proved to be a very diligent student, he loved Pokémon as much as I did and was eager to learn more about them. However it was obvious from the beginning that he and I had very different ideas about how Pokémon gained strength. Silver believed that only battling made them stronger, while I tried to show him that it's a Trainer's love for Pokémon that makes them stronger. This one little difference between us seemed like nothing at first, but eventually it would begin to form a barrier between us that would slowly pull us apart. Finally the true test of our friendship came when battling Team Rocket, Silver failed that test and swore vengeance against me for a mistake I made in the Kanto Region."

"Silver abandoned everything I taught him and came to gain strength in a way he saw fit, by gambling Pokémon with other Trainers, losers gave had to give all their Pokémon to the winner. He vowed that he would become the Ultimate Pokémon Master at any cost. Our small rivalry eventually turned into bitter hatred for one another and our Pokémon battles slowly became more and more vicious. Both of us were strong combatants, with no way to determine who was stronger. In time, the Pokémon League Council summoned both of us to test out skills. To them I was the more stronger of the two of us and I was bestowed with the highest title of all, the Ultimate Pokémon Master. It was thus that I became the King of Trainers and Silver became the evil that you now know. My greatest victory, came with my greatest sacrifice."

"So now Silver is angry that he can never have that title, so he constantly attacks you?" Max inferred.

"Even if I lose a Pokémon Battle, one does not simply take my title from me, I have to give it away." Red explained, "But I would never give Silver that kind of power."

"And Silver knows that, so he's completely focused on making you pay." Brock inferred.

"Everything he does is just because he's angry?" May asked, surprised by Silver's motifs.

"Anger is a very powerful enemy that can drive us to do horrible things." Red warned.

Dawn said nothing, in her mind she was thinking about all the enemies they've faced who's goals were completely driven by anger. One enemy stood out to her among them all.

"Maybe Giratina is the same way." Dawn thought to herself.


	6. Team Rocket

High above the speeding train under the cover of the darkness of night, a hot air balloon in the shape of a Meowth's head hovered over it. From inside of its green basket, the eyes of Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet peaked down onto the cargo hold. They watched as Silver departed with Alakazam and heard Red detail their past together. The identity of this mysterious Trainer boggled their minds.

"Why does that name Silver sound so familiar?" Jessie asked out loud.

"Yeah, was he a member of Team Rocket?" Meowth pondered.

"Silver? Silver? Of course!" James grabbed a book from his backpack. The book detailed the history of every Team Rocket member, from Grunt to Executives they were all in here.

"Look!" James called his cohorts to look at the text in the book he was pointing to, "If you look up the boss, Silver's name comes up. According to this, he's the boss' son!"

"I didn't know the boss had a son" Meowth commented.

"Wait! Back at Team Galactic HQ! Wasn't he there?"Jessie reminded the others in terror.

"And as I recall he gave the scary twerp quite a hard time" James added.

"Oh Great" Meowth whined, "At first we had to worry about those creepy zombie Pokémon, but now we have to worry about a twerp who scares even the scary twerp and happens to be the boss' little boy blue!"

"Well just remember, we can afford to avoid them, as long as we get the big prizes." Jessie reminded.

"Yes, and once we hand Arceus and Giratina to the boss, then we'll get the big prizes." James added.

"Yeah, promotions, raises and a nice comfy spot on the boss' lap." Meowth concluded.

"Catch Giratina and Arceus, and the boss will be pleased to see us!" The trio said at the same time, unintentionally rhyming.


	7. Salvia Returns

The sun had shined bright in the sky for three hours the next day, when the train finally pulled into the station in Coral Town. The train screeched to a smooth stop and the passengers departed one by one through the entrances in the cars.

Red and the others were quick to depart the cargo hold before the conductor could see the damage and blame them for it. The seven Trainers and their Pokémon ran down the platform before Red lead them onto the streets where they began causally walking down the sidewalk.

The town seemed more like a small village. The buildings were very reminiscent to the era of the pilgrims in North America, and they way people were dressed was the same as that time frame. This made the Pokémon Trainers stand out like a pack of gum in a pile of rocks.

"What's the plan now?" Max asked the group.

"We've got to rent a boat to take us out to sea." Ash explained.

"But we have no idea where we're going" May objected.

"If the Sacred Light really is the next monument then maybe I can guide us there using my powers." Dawn offered.

"I wouldn't flaunt my powers if I were you Dane." Lyra warned.

"Why not?"

"If you use your powers in this town they might burn you at the stake for witchcraft." Lyra explained.

"Come one this is the twenty first century." Max protested, "No one believes in witchcraft anymore."

"But they believe a Pokémon created the universe." Red added.

"Let's not attract unwanted attention, so maybe you should keep your powers a secret." Brock insisted.

"Right now we have to focus on finding a boat." Ash reminded the others.

"Excuse me!" A voice called out to them from behind. When they turned they saw that the voice belonged to a beautiful young woman, with earth green hair and an elegant dark magenta dress. Ash, Dawn and Brock recognized her immediately.

"Freesia?" Ash asked, surprised to see her.

"Princess Salvia's lady in waiting." Dawn explained to Red, May, Max and Lyra.

"Yes, it is good to see all of you again, I heard you saying you needed a boat." Freesia said as she held her hand out for Dawn to shake. Brock moved even faster.

"Indeed we need a boat, dear Freesia" Brock began as he gently held Freesia's hand, "But I propose a romantic boat ride at sea, just the two of us, alone at night under the light of a full moon, with many beautiful water Pokémon to gaze upon as we gently hold hands."

Before Brock could speak anymore, Croagunk leapt from its PokéBall and used its Poison Jab attack. Thrusting its purple fist into Brock's back paralyzing him.

"It was just a suggestion." Brock croaked as he fell to the ground. Croagunk grabbed Brock by his stiff arm and dragged him behind the group to hide his Trainer's shame.

"It's like an illness with him." Max commented.

"Yes we need a boat to travel out to sea." Red explained to Freesia as he walked up to her.

"Well Princess Salvia's yacht is at the docks right now, I'm sure she'd be willing to help you." Freesia explained.

"How do you guys know her?" Max asked Ash and Dawn at once.

"Well Salvia wanted to be in a Pokémon Contest and I sort of helped her out." Dawn explained.

"By letting her take your place." Ash added jokingly.

"Does she have deep sea diving tech?" Red asked.

"Why yes she does" Freesia answered, "She often uses the equipment to collect sea shells and ancient relics from the sea floor."

"That's awesome! Then lead the way Freesia." Ash declared.

"It's better to explain our mission truthfully to the princess when we meet her." Red warned Dawn.

Freesia led the seven Trainers down several blocks along the coastline. As they walked they could see several Water Type Pokémon leaping out of the water in joy.

Dawn could sense the source of their joy. They knew that she was sent by Arceus to be their saviour and that meant he would awaken soon and the era of darkness would end. Knowing that these Pokémon saw her as a miracle from heaven lifted her spirits, they had faith in her and knew that she could achieve miracles. Exactly what Arceus told her when she was confronted by him days before.

Finally, they approached the docks and could see Salvia's great white yacht in the distance, behind many small fishing boats. The white of the ship in contrast to the rusting grey of the boats made Salvia's yacht stand out even more. Once they got past the fishing boats and to the yacht they saw Salvia standing next to it, calmly awaiting the arrival of Freesia. The princess was joyfully surprised to see Dawn and her friends accompanying her lady in waiting.

"Miss Dawn, it is good to see you and your friends." Salvia greeted, "Although some faces are new."

May, Max, Lyra and Red knew that Salvia was referring to them. The four were quick to greet themselves.

"I'm May and this is my brother Max" May greeted as she pointed to her brother. The Princess bowed her head in respect.

"The name's Lyra, nice to meet you Princess." Lyra said as she shook her hand.

"The feeling is mutual Lyra." Salvia said, unable to keep up with Lyra's enthusiasm.

"And I am..." Red began before the sovereign stopped him.

"I know who you are, you're Red, the greatest Trainer of all time." Salvia stated, "It is my honour to meet you in person."

"The honour is mine." Red responded, "I don't want to be too formal, but we require your yacht for sea travel."

"Where do you need to go?" Salvia asked.

"Well you see that's the problem because.." May began before Max interrupted her.

"We have no idea where we're going." Max explained, embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" The sovereign of Arrowroot Town asked.

"We have to find the sunken city of Fontaine." Ash explained.

"How many more times are these phrases going to start with a 'W'?" Brock asked.

"Does finding the city have anything to do with the attack on my hometown several months ago?" Salvia asked.

Dawn did not know how to answer her. If she spoke truthful to her, then there was a chance that she would not permit them to use her boat. But Salvia looked up to Dawn as a hero, she could never bring herself to lie to her face. Red could see that Dawn was struggling to answer her and so spoke out.

"Yes" Red answered, "We know about how the Antimon destroyed Arrowroot Town, we know that this has forced your subjects out of the town and left them without a home, and I can sense the emotional toll it has taken on you."

"But they were just the first" Brock continued, "More of those things are coming and they're capable of taking on the forms of Powerful Legendary Pokémon now, soon there will be no stopping them. We need to get to the city so that we can stop them from destroying the world as we know it. We can only do this if we can get your ship, time is running out."

"What do you say Salvia, will you help us?" Dawn asked gently.

Salvia said nothing. Ever since the destruction of her home, she prayed that she would never have to face those things again, even though no one was there to hear her prayers. However the emotional toll this took was great, to her it was her failure as a leader was what struck down Arrowroot Town. Salvia did not want anyone to feel the pain she had felt, and wanted to make up for her mistake by any means necessary.

"They took my home" Salvia explained, "They will never rob anyone of anything ever again, my boat is yours."


	8. Two Perfect Girls

Princess Salvia's yacht had been at sea for several hours. During this time, Dawn remained in the bridge using her powers to sense the location of the Sacred Light and guide the helmsman and the navigator. The sun began to set over the horizon, as it did it cast a warm orange light over the glistening waves. Silence slowly began to consume the oceans and darkness began to overwhelm them.

Red stood at the bow of the yacht, looking out over the endless ocean, lost in thought. It was highly illogical to Red for a dragon to be living in Fontaine, it had to be a Pokémon. But which Pokémon could possibly the suspect, Red ran through several species in his mind, the most prevailing two were Kyogre and Lugia. Either way, it was likely very dangerous creature, one that he would have to be there to protect Dawn from if that would be the case.

Ash was on the far other side of the boat, but also gazing out at sea. The beauty and majesty of the ocean caused him to think about Misty. No matter how he tried, it seemed like everything reminded him of her. He remembered the day they first met and what caused them to travel together. Through all the challenges they faced, whether it was Team Rocket or dangerous Pokémon, they always had each other's back. The most painful part of their travels together through the Kanto and Johto Region, was when Misty had to return to her gym in Cerulean City. Ash couldn't recall ever finding it so painful to say goodbye. As far as he knew, meeting misty was the greatest part of his journey.

No matter what anyone told him, he still held responsible for what happened to her. Were it not for his recklessness before, then we would've been string enough to pull her to safety. As much as he blamed himself he also knew that Giratina was responsible for what happened and anger would not change that. He vowed to save Misty, even if it meant the obvious would happen and he would have to go to the Distortion World.

Before long, the sun had fully set and the dark of night had surrounded the boat. Once more the moon that shined in the night sky was full. Ash and the other Trainers knew what this meant, Salvia however was clueless as to its meaning.

"Fascinating, the moon has been full for quite a few nights." The Princess noticed as she stood at the bow of the boat as well, stargazing.

"I know, very interesting." Freesia commented.

"Not, interesting, unpleasant." Red corrected. As he walked past the two, he stopped to explain what it meant, "That full moon is one of the omens of Giratina's rising, soon he will escape the Distortion World."

"One of the omens?" Salvia asked with great dread in her question.

"There'll be a lot more to come" Red explained, "Including natural disasters, wild Pokémon attacks will be far more common, freezing temperatures and eternal darkness."

"That sounds horrible" Salvia responded, honest and afraid.

"The sooner we find the Palace the better." Dawn concluded.

"Dinner's ready" Brock explained as he stepped out from the kitchen.

The passengers of the boat followed Brock to the dining hall where they were astonished to see that Brock had elegantly set the table. Candle lit, various silverware and plates, Brock had created a beautiful and elegant atmosphere to the room.

"Wow Brock, you did all this?" May asked astonished.

"We've had a pretty stressful couple of months, I think we deserve a little relaxation." Brock explained.

"How did you get that piano in here?" Dawn asked, pointing to the grand piano at the end of the hall.

"That was there when I got here" Brock explained, "I sort of based the design around it."

"I sometimes play that piano" Freesia explained, "Lately, as the princess has been accepting more responsibilities I haven't been able to play it as much."

"You don't mind if I try it do you?" Brock asked.

"You can play a Grand Piano?" Ash asked very surprised, he had travelled with Brock for some time and never knew that about him.

"Yeah, my mom gave me a few lessons when I was little." Brock explained.

"Well I don't see why you can't play" Salvia concluded, "Go right ahead."

"Thanks" Brock responded as he walked up to the piano. As Brock prepared to play, the others sat at the table and awaited to hear him play.

"This is a little number I'd like to dedicate to two perfect girls." Brock explained before he started playing the grand piano and singing.

_A one woman man's what I wanna be  
Stay by her side so faithfully  
I would if I could, but it's just no good  
Cause there's two perfect girls for me_

_Jenny, oh Jenny  
Joy, oh Joy  
A one woman man's what I wanna be  
But there's two perfect girls for me_

_Officer Jenny, oh can't you see  
You can lock me up and throw away the key  
Jenny, if loving you's a crime  
Then sentence me now and I'll do the time_

_My uniformed beauty is simply the best  
She's got my heart under house arrest  
But before that cop names me her boy  
I'm head over heels (he's head over heels)  
I'm head over heels for a nurse named Joy_

_Jenny, oh Jenny  
Joy, oh Joy  
A one woman man's what I wanna be  
But there's two perfect girls for me_

_Nurse Joy, won't you please  
Cure me of this bad disease  
Oh Joy, the diagnosis is bleak  
When I see your face my knees get weak_

_Well, I'm burning up, I got the fever  
She's my perfect nurse and I'd never leave her  
Her bedside manner has healed so many  
So why am I in love? (why's he so in love?)  
Why am I in love with Officer Jenny?_

_Jenny, oh Jenny  
Joy, oh Joy  
A one woman man's what I wanna be  
But there's two perfect girls for me_

_I've tried, and I've tried  
And I've searched way deep inside  
From these two I won't choose  
I can't stand the bad news  
About the name of the girl that I'm gonna lose!_

_This can't go on, enough is enough  
I've gotta pick one no matter how tough  
It's time for eeny-meeny, miny-mo  
But wait a second! (wait a second!)  
Wait a second! (come on and wait a second)  
What's her name? I've just gotta know!  
I've just gotta know!_

_Jenny, oh Jenny  
Joy, oh Joy  
A one woman man's what I wanna be  
But there's one, no two,  
No three, four, five, six, seven - so many  
Perfect girls for me!_

Brock concluded his song and was met with great applause from his friends. In honour of the moment, Brock stood from his seat and took a bow.

"That was awesome!" May complimented.

"I just knew it would involve Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny" Max commented jokingly.

"You have such an amazing voice Brock" Freesia complimented.

"My thanks Freesia" Brock responded as he bowed before her.

Before any of them could eat, the yacht violently rocked to its right, throwing everyone and everything in the dining hall on its side. Food, cutlery and dishes slid off the table and crashed to the floor, much to Brock's terror.

"No!" Brock shouted in sorrow, "I spent hours perfecting this dinner!"

"What's happening?" May asked in alarm.

"Let's get above deck and find out!" Lyra shouted as she staggered up the stairs.

Lyra was soon joined by the other Trainers. What they saw they could never have expected, the yacht had been encircled by a violent storm. Lightning danced through the pitch black clouds that shrouded the sky. The freezing wind stung the trainers as it struck their bare skin. What was most outstanding to them was the precipitation caused by the storm.

"It's snow!" Dawn shouted to the other trainers, "We're in a blizzard!"

"Brock! Get us out of here!" Red instructed the Pokémon Doctor, aware of his capabilities to drive a boat.

"You got it!" Brock responded as he sprinted across the deck to the navigation room. Brock firmly grabbed the ship's wheel and began turning it in both directions, successfully evening out the yacht.

"How can there be a blizzard? it's too early!" Max wondered out loud.

"This has to be one of the doom omens!" May theorized.

"Oh this just keeps getting better and better!" Lyra complained out loud.

Ash at first saw this as an omen too. His perception of the situation quickly changed as he looked up to the clouds and saw a red aura moving through them. At first he thought everyone could see it, but as Ash looked around and saw that no one was paying any attention to it, he deduced that this was the power of a Sacred Knight ,he was sensing the aura of a creature hiding in the storm, a corrupt aura.

"There's something inside those clouds" Ash warned the others, "I can sense its aura."

"Then so should I" Red responded. Concentrating, Red focused all of his power in searching for the creature inside. After much concentration, Red could finally see what Ash had seen, a red aura in the shape of a Pokémon that was all too familiar to him.

"It's Kyurem!" Red shouted, "Kyurem's creating this blizzard!"

"Then he'll keep forcing this blizzard on us no matter where we go!" Ash reasoned.

"There's only one safe place to go" Dawn said to the others as she ran for the control room.

"Brock start going Northeast!" Dawn instructed.

"You've got it, how far?"

"I'll tell you where to stop" Dawn explained.

Back on the deck, Ash, Red and the other Trainers were battling against the beast of the storm.

"If Kyurem's an Ice Type Dragon then our Fire Pokémon should stop him." Red theorized.

"Okay then, Charizard come out and use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

"Blaziken! Mega Evolve and use Overheat!" May commanded.

"Arcanine, you use Flamethrower as well" Salvia instructed.

"Chars use Flare Blitz!" Red directed.

The four Fire Types continually blasted fire in the storm clouds, to no prevail. Their attempts only seemed to worsen the blizzard, by enraging Kyurem.

"It's not working!" Max shouted to the others.

"Stop pointing out the obvious!" Lyra angrily shouted back.

"You can brave the winds and the ice" Kyurem called out from within the clouds, "But can you brave the sea?"

At that moment, an enormous columns of ice emerged from the thrashing waves. Brock narrowly turned the boast and avoided the emerging ice shard. Before long, more and more Ice columns began to jut out of the sea. The Trainers, defending the ship ran to the front bow and began attacking the columns.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash instructed. Pikachu fired a powerful electrical blast from its entire body that struck the ice column and caused it to explode into thousands of harmless shards.

"Blaziken use Flamethrower!" May instructed. Blaziken fired another beam of fire that melted an second ice column into water. Just was that one fell, another ice column arose directly in front of the yacht.

"We've got this one, Girafarig use Flash Cannon!" Lyra commanded as she released Girafarig from its PokéBall. The Pokémon fired a bright beam of energy from the mouth on its tail that struck the column, seconds before the yacht could collide with it.

"No more running" Red decided, "We aren't getting anywhere unless we directly attack Kyurem!"

"We'll cover you" Ash offered, "make sure you hit the mark."

"I never miss" Red commented before commanding Pika, "Okay Pika, on my mark, use Thunder."

Back in the control room, Brock continued to maneuver the yacht around the treacherous Ice Columns around them. Dawn instructed him to continue Northeast, but he had no idea where they were going.

"Where are we heading?" Brock asked.

"We have to keep pushing forward to Fontaine, we can't let Kyurem hold us back!" Dawn explained

"How much further is it?" Brock asked once more.

"We're almost there" Dawn explained as she pointed out through the Ice Column labyrinth, "It's just past those two columns!"

Red used his aura powers to sense where Kyurem was in the clouds. The Boundary Pokémon was following ahead of the yacht, shooting Ice Columns out of the water where he knew the boat was going to be. Red timed exactly where the Ice Dragon was going to be and prepared to order Pika to fire an electric attack.

Before the Pokémon Master could officially give a command, a massive Ice Column, twice the size of the others, lunged out of the water and scraped along the side of the yacht. The Ice ripped through the hull of the boat and its frozen ridges had beached it.

"Now you're mine Priestess!" Kyurem bellowed from the clouds. The dragon lunged through the clouds, revealing himself to be in his White Zekrom form. The Boundary Pokémon charged for the boat, his mouth wide open baring his teeth and preparing to use an attack. Red knew that this boat needed only powerful Pokémon attack to rip it into scrap metal.

"Now Pika use Thunder!" Red ordered. Electricity soon engulfed Pika's body before he released it forward in one powerful beam that struck Kyurem in his face. Giratina's servant shrieked in pain as he fell out of the sky and splashed down into the waters around the yacht. No sign of movement came soon after that.

"Is he dead?" Salvia asked.

"I doubt it, he probably can swim" Max theorized.

"He'll be back" Red concluded, "I know it."


	9. Enter the Deep

That morning, as the dawn sun glistened over the waves in an orange sky, the Trainers wasted no time in getting to work repairing the ship's breached hull. Buneary, Glaceon and Piplup used their combined Ice Beam to create a thick sheet if ice to cover the breach, while Brock and Geodude went to work fixing the engines.

By the time the sun had fully risen, barely any if the repairs had been made. The navigator was damaged and the engine was still in desperate need of repair. Princess Salvia called the Trainers to meet in a room with six changing rooms and multiple scuba diving suits.

"Blue suits for the boys, and red for the girls." Salvia explained.

"We're right on top of Fontaine too" Dawn commented, "So that saves us travel time."

"How does a city get this far out to sea?" Lyra asked in a rhetorical manner. Max was very quick to answer her.

"Well I'm not an expert, but I think that the storm that sunk the city may've been intense enough to rip the city off its foundation. Of course the city must've been built on unstable sedimentary rock. As the city sank, it would also drift along with the current until it finally would rest on a stable surface like rock or coral, and everyone knows that the most stable surfaces are found far out to sea."

"And he says he's not an expert." May commented to herself.

"Did the submarine survive the crash?" Freesia asked.

"I sent Piplup to check it out earlier today" Dawn answered, "It looks like a few dents and scrapes, but it's still manageable."

"Well that's good to hear." Ash commented optimistically. Pikachu held up two fingers as a sign of approval.

"There's a lot of damage to the ship, it would be best if some of us stayed here for repairs." Red offered.

"So, who's going and who's staying?" Ash asked. Red was surprised that Ash would ask him to take command, but right now he needed too.

"Brock, you stay and lead the repair team." Red instructed, the Pokémon Doctor.

"You got it" Brock responded.

"May and Max, you stay here and assist him." Red finished.

"What!" Max asked in shock, "But that's not fair I want to go down there with you guys. Why can't Lyra stay here."

"Oh sure, leave the new girl to do the grunt work, she doesn't get any chance to shine because she's new." Lyra commented sarcastically.

"I think Lyra would be very useful to us." Red said suspiciously.

"Well if there's a dragon down there, I'm happy to be up here." May commented.

"Ash, Dawn your Fire Pokémon will be useless down there" Red commented, "So you guys leave Charizard and Quilava here and I'll leave Chars."

"Okay" Both Trainers Red referred to said at the same time. Ash and Dawn called out Charizard and Quilava respectively and gave them their orders.

"Charizard, you have to stay here and help with repairs." Ash instructed.

"You too Quilava." Dawn commanded. Red called out Chars from his PokéBall and gave him the same orders.

"Chars, I need you to stay behind and help fix the yacht." Red commanded, Chars gave a nod of approval to his Trainer.

"Can you pilot a submarine?" Freesia asked the Pokémon Master.

"Pilot yes" Red began, "port, probably not."

"Okay let's suit up" Ash declared as he grabbed a blue scuba suit and stepped into a changing room. Soon May, Dawn and Red follow suit and were prepped for a sea voyage.

Freesia and Salvia then lead the Trainers to a room at the lowest deck of the ship. The room was completely with the exception of a hatch in the floor. Freesia walked over to it, turned the hatch on top and pulled it open, revealing a second hatch, which she push down to open, revealing a ladder that lead down into the small yellow submarine.

"Once you get close enough, activate a magnetic pull that will safely port the submarine onto the ship." Freesia explained.

"Excellent, there's just one more thing." Red grabbed three PokéBalls off his belt and opened them to reveal, Lapras, Squirtle and Snorlax.

"You three stay here and assist in repairs." Red instructed.

"Maybe I should do that too." Dawn said as she grabbed three PokéBalls off her belt and released Buneary, Togekiss and Mamoswine, "You guys should help with repairs too."

Ash released Bayleef, Staraptor and Corpfish from their PokéBalls and said to them, "I need you guys to stay here and protect the yacht."

Bayleef looked at Ash with sorrowful eyes and lunged at him, tackling her Trainer in a show of love.

"I know how much you want to come, but your moves could be used to fix the boat to Bayleef." Ash explained. Once he finally got his large Grass Type off himself, he joined Red, Dawn and Lyra as they climbed down the ladder and into the submarine.

As they got into the submarine, Freesia sealed the hatches and Red took to the controls and deactivated the magnetic field on the submarine. Slowly it began to sink until Red started the engines and began steering the small yellow pod.

From below the yacht, the submarine was being watched as it began to submerge into the dark water of the sea. They were being watched from the periscope of a submarine in the shape of a Magikarp, by the eyes of the Team Rocket trio.

"Those twerps are heading underwater." Jessie commented as she looked through the periscope.

"Well they did say that the next monument is in a sunken city." James remarked.

"Say, a sunken city must have a lot of valuable treasure in it." Meowth offered, "Treasure we could use to save Team Rocket from going bankrupt."

"Isn't that why we're going after Arceus and Giratina?" James reminded.

"Yeah, but I'm saying is that we give Arceus and Giratina to the boss and some of the treasure " Meowth explained, "while we take most of the treasure for ourselves."

"Let's do it!" Jessie declared, "I can finally live like a queen!"

"I can ditch canned tuna for caviar" Meowth hoped.

"And I can finally finish my bottle cap collection!" James dreamed. Jessie and Meowth looked at him with very unsatisfied eyes as all three pedaled their submarine.

"How does that have anything to do with what we're talking about?" Jessie asked fiercely.

"Well Meowth said there was treasure in the city and bottle caps are treasure!" James explained gleefully.

"Sometimes I worry about you boy." Meowth said to his human companion.

Red sat at the control panel, with Dawn next to him, using her powers to sense the location of the city and navigate them to it. While Ash and Lyra sat in the seconds row behind them. The final row behind them was taken by Pika, Pikachu, Marill and Piplup.

As the small submarine navigated the waterways, it was surrounded by a myriad of spectacular Water Pokémon, Luvdisc, Lumineon, and even Finneon, none showed fear of getting close to the submarine and they were willing to get close enough as to allow the passengers to stare in awe at their oceanic beauty.

It didn't help Ash that every Water Pokémon reminded him of Misty. Still heartbroken, the young Trainer wanted to make sure her sacrifice was not in vain, by completing their mission.

"Misty is a brave Trainer, this is what she would want." Red told Ash several weeks ago.

"Where do we go from here Dawn?" Red asked his navigator. Dawn focused, allowing the voice of the Sacred Light to lead her to it, slowly she began to hear it calling her, telling her where she had to go.

"Start diving" dawn said as she pointed down into a large, dark canyon, "We have to go down there."

Red pushed downward on the control lever and the nose of the submarine began to dip downward. Soon the entire body of the submarine slanted in the same direction and descended into the itch black canyon. To compensate for the darkness, Red activated the searchlights. What they revealed to him as they scanned the sea floor was nothing short of horrifying.

It was a graveyard of sunken ships, everything from Pirate ships, to even military grade aircraft carriers all laid at the sea floor. Thousands of these boats littered the bottom of the canyon, coupled with the bones of several unlucky passengers.

"Whoa, look at that" Ash said in whispering terror, "What could've sunken all these boats?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the dragon?" Lyra asked very obviously.

"Don't jump to conclusions Lyra." Red said sternly.

"Hang on, the sonar's picking up movement." Dawn warned.

Red looked at the screen to see a long serpentine shape moving about thirty noughts away from them.

"Maybe it's a school of fish" Lyra theorized nervously.

"Not possible" Red explained nervously, "the image is too compact."

"Red turn on the microphones, maybe if we can hear it, we can figure out what it is." Ash theorized. Red turned on the microphone and soon a chilling moaning sound filled the submarine.

"Okay, maybe it's a Wailord." Dawn assumed, in a very unsure tone.

"Wailords don't come down this far!" Lyra shouted from the second row.

"Guys!" Ash shouted to prevent an argument, and to warn them, "That sound's getting louder!"

As soon as Ash said that, the moaning sounds stopped and the shape escaped the sonar.

"Whatever it is, it's left for now." Red assured.

"That's a relief" Dawn said as she slid down in her seat.

However, her words came too quickly as the submarine was suddenly and violently rocked to its side. The passengers nearly fell out of their seats, and the small Pokémon behind them were tossed all over the inside of the submarine.

Ash looked out the window, from the side of the ship that was struck, and caught a glimpse of something moving underneath the ship and to the other side of it.

"Red, it's coming at us from the left!" Ash shouted. Red accelerated the submarine forward just avoiding a deadly Hyper Beam attack. The flashing light from the Hyper Beam cut through the pitch black canyon and gave the Trainers a glimpse of what it was that attacked them. All that they could see were large pointed teeth and cold, rage filled eyes.

"What is that?" Dawn asked terrified.

"Oh isn't it obvious Dane, it's the dragon!" Lyra shouted even more terrified.

"We have to stand our ground" Ash strongly recommended.

"This thing has the advantage, it can clearly see in the darkness and it has better manoeuvrability" Red explained, "We have to keep going, Dawn where to next?"

Once more Dawn listened for the voice of the Sacred Light and it showed her where to go next.

"We have to go through that crevasse." Dawn explained as she pointed through the side window and towards a narrow crevasse in the sea floor.

"It's too narrow, we'll never make it" Lyra explained nervously.

"It's our only chance" Red commented as he turned the submarine and accelerated down towards the crevasse.

"Um, the dragon's following us." Dawn warned as she looked at the sonar to see the serpentine shape getting closer to their submarine.

"If we can't fit than neither will he." Red explained as the submarine pushed into the crevasse. The hull of the sub ship scraped along the rock walls, kicking up dust and creating a piercing shrill scarping sound that irritated the passengers of the submarine. Barely the small sea craft escaped the rock vice and accelerated through the canyon.

A muffled sound of rocks breaking and tumbling echoed from behind the submarine, accompanied by aggravated growls and shrieks. None of the passengers looked back, they knew that the dragon was trying to get into the crevasse and got stuck.

"You were right, he didn't fit!" Ash shouted joyously, "We're in the clear!"

"Not necessarily" Red corrected, "It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel if that dragon uses another Hyper Beam."

"Then get us out of here!" Lyra demanded.

"We can keep going down" Dawn explained, "The crevasse will curve up and into an air pocket where Fontaine is."

"How do you know that?" Ash asked.

"The Sacred Light told me." Dawn answered.

"Brace yourselves, I'm using a serpentine maneuver" Red warned as he swerved the submarine towards the left wall of the crevasse and then swerving towards the right side before it collided with the wall, and then back again.

"We're getting close to the bottom of the crevasse." Red warned again.

"Okay as soon as we get to the bottom, pull up and we'll get to the pocket." Dawn explained further.

Finally the submarine reached the bottom and pulled up into an tunnel in the roof of the underwater cavern. However the submarine did not move close enough as the dragon fired another Hyper Beam, this time striking the back of the submarine.

"What was that?" Ash asked out loud.

"What do you think, we've been hit!" Lyra abrasively answered.

"Keep moving!" Dawn shouted to Red.

"This thing's leaking gas and the engine's reaching critical temperatures!" Red shouted back as he looked at the engine monitors.

"This thing's a ticking time bomb!" Ash realized in horror.

"Abandon Ship!" Lyra shouted as she grabbed an oxygen mask, gave it to Marill and ran for the airlock, but not before grabbing oxygen tanks and a mask for herself.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but she's got the right idea." Red stated as he helped Dan out of her seat before the two of them joined Ash in following Lyra's example. Once all four Trainers and their Pokémon were readied for deep sea diving, they departed through the airlock and began swimming upward. As they did, the submarine crashed back to the bottom of the crevasse and went up in a large explosion that pushed the swimmers even further up with its shock wave.

Not one of them bothered to waste precious oxygen as the continued swimming towards the air lock. In a rhythmic movement, their legs stroked through the water, propelling them through the ocean water. Red and Ash continually looked at Pika and Pikachu to make sure that they were not having trouble swimming.

A few minutes of diligent swimming proved to be worth the effort as all four Trainers and their Pokémon companions successfully reached the air pocket. The inside was far larger than they expected. easily over three kilometres in diameter, with a ceiling just as high. Surrounding the eight visitors were the ruins of the lost city of Fontaine.


	10. The Dragon

The Trainers and their Pokémon couldn't help but marvel at the majestic ruins around them. It was amazing to see that such a large city survived the test of time and endured a horrific storm sent as punishment by Arceus.

"How does a city this huge, survive to make its way into an air pocket like this?" Lyra asked out loud as she climbed onto the city streets, reuniting with the Trainers and her own Pokémon.

"The power of the gods." Dawn answered.

"Where are we going to find the Sacred Light in a city this big?" Ash asked.

"We should divide into two groups" Red offered "If Dawn can't see the light it gives off, then the rest of us will have to find it by looking for the blinding light it gives."

"Got it, me and Lyra are a group while you and Dawn are one?" Ash asked.

"Actually, I think it should be you and Dawn in a group while the other is me and Lyra." Red corrected.

"You and Lyra?" Dawn asked the King of Trainers, "Why?"

"What's wrong Dane are you jealous?" Lyra teased. Dawn finally went ballistic after hearing Lyra's words.

"I told you nothing's happening with me and Red we're exact opposites! He's Edward Elric and I'm Twilight Sparkle! We aren't in love!" Dawn raved at her friend.

"I don't know Lyra that well" Red explained suspiciously, "This could be a chance for us to get to know one another."

"Okay" Lyra said quickly and nervously.

"Then let's get searching." Ash offered as he and Dawn went in one direction, while Lyra and Red went in the other direction.

As Red and Lyra continued down the ripped apart streets of the forgotten city, not a single one of them said a word. Red used this to build stress in his suspicious partner. There was something about her that unsettled Red and he had a grave suspicion as to her motives.

"So what were you doing in the Ransei Region?" Red asked Lyra. The Trainer seemed nervous when he asked her the question and began stammering for an answer.

"I was uh, just exploring the region, it's the only one I hadn't been to in the past." Lyra finally answered very quickly.

"Really?" Red asked interrogatively, "You know none of us have been to the Ransei either. Ash told me he hadn't either when we last spoke over the Video-Phone."

"Really?" Lyra asked dishonestly.

"Yes" Red answered, "But I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched."

Lyra began to sweat, Red was pressuring her into a spot that she knew she could not crawl back out from. If she didn't find an alibi, then her cover would be blown and everything she kept a secret would be revealed.

"How is it that you just happened to stumble on us at the same time we were reunited?" Red interrogated. Now it was obvious to Lyra that Red was onto her secrets.

"Coincidence" Lyra assured, "Just a coincidence!"

Red gave one cold look at her, before walking right up to her and staring into her eyes before giving her a very chilling response.

"I don't believe in coincidences"

Before Red could indulge on Lyra's assumed secrets, a sound of rapid footsteps began to grow louder and louder. the two looked down the streets to see the Team Rocket trio running at them.

"You three bozos again?" Lyra asked surprised.

"I'd say prepare for trouble" Jessie began.

"But you're already in it!" Meowth finished as the three Pokémon thieves raced passed the two young Trainers and down the road. Red and Lyra looked back down from the direction the Team Rocket trio came from, curious as to what they could possibly be running from. Was it an Antimon? Kyurem or Darkrai? The answer was far worse than they could imagine

Ash and Dawn continued to walk down the streets, with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and Piplup in Dawn's arms. The two of them conversed as to the reasons why Red would want to be with Lyra. They agreed that he did not want to get to know Lyra, he was planning something and they could not figure out what his true motives were. Dawn theorized that Red was going to battle with her to test her skills. Ash thought the Pokémon Master was intending on using her as bait to help catch the dragon.

"Whatever his plan, I hope he'll be gentle on Lyra." Dawn hoped.

"I hope Lyra will be gentle on him." Ash commented.

Before Dawn could respond, she noticed an object in front of them. The statue of a Sacred Knight was in the centre of the streets. The warrior stood brave and strong, with a spear pointing down another street.

"Hey Ash, didn't the riddle say something about following the Sacred Knights?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah why?" Ash questioned.

"Look at that" Dawn reasoned as she pointed towards where the spear of the Sacred Knight was. Down the street, there was another statue of a Sacred Knight. This one had his spear pointed down a different street.

"If we follow them, it should lead us to the Sacred Light." Dawn theorized.

"Then let's get moving" Ash decided as he began to walk down the street, Dawn following behind him.

Like a scavenger hunt, Ash and Dawn followed the statues of the Sacred Knights and where they pointed. Some lost their spears to the test of time, but Dawn was capable of figuring out where they were pointing based on their arms.

The young Trainers stopped walking as the street lead them onto an arched bridge that gave them an amazing few of the ruined city. One building that stood out most to Ash was the enormous Citadel on the far side of Fontaine. High at the top of the enormous tower, a blinding light came through the windows.

"There it is! The Sacred Light!" Ash alerted Dawn, Pikachu waved his hand in joy.

"Awesome!" Dawn exclaimed, Piplup waved his flippers in happiness, "And I'm glad we didn't meet the*"

"DRAGON!" Lyra shouted from behind them as she, Pika, Marill and Red ran down the streets, being chased by a wall of fire. Finally the wall of fire dissipated as she and Red reunited with their friends, revealing the 'dragon' to the intruders of the city.

"That's not a dragon!" Ash warned, "It's a Gyarados!"

"A shiny Gyarados." Red corrected with great fear.

The Red Gyarados lunged its head forward, firing a vicious Overheat attack, the Trainers and their Pokémon were quick to dodge the blast.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded his partner. Pikachu leapt high into the air, swinging his glowing silver tail into the vicious Pokémon's face. Pikachu's Iron Tail struck the red Gyarados, however due to Pikachu's small stature, the blow did very little as the Pokémon then used Hydro Cannon. It blasted Pikachu with a sharp jet of freezing cold water that send the small Pokémon tumbling to the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he ran to his friend and held him in his arms, "Are you alright."

Pikachu looked at Ash and gave him a small smile of approval. Now it was Dawn's turn.

"Piplup, use Ice Beam!" Dawn ordered her first Pokémon. Piplup followed multiple light blue streams from an equally blue sphere in his beak. Once the streams struck the Red Gyarados' underbelly it created a patch of ice that seemed to irritate it with the stinging cold.

With one good lunge forward, the giant Pokémon shattered the ice encrusting its hide and rammed its skull into Piplup, sending the Pokémon flying through the air.

"Piplup!" Dawn cried in horror as she watched her Pokémon crash to the ground. Dawn ran to her small Pokémon and called on her powers to heal Piplup's cracked ribs and deflated lung.

"Marill, use Water Gun!" Lyra commanded. The aquatic mouse Pokémon shot a stream of water from its mouth that did very little to affect the Gyarados.

"In Hindsight, it was pretty stupid of us to bring Water Pokémon with us." Lyra commented.

The Gyarados fired a Hyper Beam from its mouth straight at Marill. Knowing that her Pokémon would be wiped off the plain of existence if it hit, Lyra jumped forward, grabbing Marill and diving out of the way of the oncoming blast. The Red Gyarados turned and glared at Lyra with furious eyes, she felt as shiver as she assumed the creature was after her.

"Guys" Lyra whispered to the others, "I'm wearing a red diving suit, I'm expendable!"

"Wait!" Red warned the others, "It's a water type, our electric Pokémon can stop it."

"There's no way Pachirisu can hurt a Pokémon that big!" Dawn argued.

"Not even Pikachu's strongest Electro Ball can hold back an angry Gyarados." Ash added.

"That's why you guys have to keep using water attacks." Red finished.

"But you saw that, our water attacks only upset him!" Lyra complained.

"Just do it!" Red shouted back very aggravated.

"Okay then, Oshawott come on out and use Hydro Pump!" Ash commanded as he opened his Pokémon's PokéBall.

"Piplup, use your Hydro Pump!" Dawn instructed her newly healed Pokémon.

"Marill, use Water Gun!" Lyra said as she followed suit.

Piplup, Marill and Oshawott blasted water at the enraged Pokémon. Just as before, their water attacks did nothing to harm the Red Gyarados. However, the Pokémon began to be covered in water, from being moist, the vicious Gyarados became drenched in water. It was clear to Ash what the Pokémon Master's plan was.

"That's it! Now that he's that wet, our electric attacks will do even more damage to him." Ash theorized.

"If that's the case, then Pachirisu use Discharge!" Dawn commanded her small electric type.

"Pika use Volt Tackle!" Red ordered.

"Pikachu use Electro Ball!" Ash instructed.

Pikachu and Pachirisu's combined electric attacks struck the Red Gyarados with great power, amplified by the water that covered its body. The shock from the powerful blast paralyzed the creature, preventing it from moving and allowing Pika to ram its electricity coated body right into the face of the Red Gyarados. The combined electric attack was too much and the vicious Pokémon finally fell to the ground unconscious.

"We did it!" Ash declared triumphantly.

"Yeah" Dawn added sorrowfully, "I just wish we didn't have to fight it."

Red was not very quick to comment on their victory. he questioned how this Pokémon could guard the city for so long and what could cause it to attack in such a vicious rage. The Pokémon circled around the unconscious Red Gyarados and spotted something very disturbing.

"There's a burn mark in its back." Red informed, "Someone's been hurting this creature."

Red took a closer look at the burn and saw that it was not as it seemed. The anger inflicting wound on the Gyarados' back was branded in the shape of Giratina's symbol.

"What did you see?" Lyra asked as she and the other two Trainers circled around the motionless Pokémon.

"We have to find the Sacred Light and get out of here now." Red warned.


	11. The Pokemon Ranger

The four Trainers and their Pokémon, raced for the Citadel. Upon seeing the cold symbol of Giratina on that Red Gyarados' back, they all realized that the Lord of the Void's power truly was without limit. His hand had reached down into this lost city beneath the waves. There was no doubt to any of them that when Kyurem fell beneath the seas, he went straight to the city and enraged the Red Gyarados with his dragon power.

Red continued to lead the other Trainers and their Pokémon up the spiral staircase of the Citadel's tower. Dawn noticed how the tower seemed very reminiscent to a Lighthouse and Ash deduced that it may have been designed off towers due to the Sacred Light at the top, and the light must've served to guide the citizens of Fontaine to victory.

Lyra said nothing, something she was not known for. Her great fear was that if she opened her mouth, Red would continue his gruff interrogation and would force the truth out of her. She had fought hard to keep herself from using her training during serious events, such as Silver's attack on the train and the random blizzard in the middle of the ocean. If she used an ounce of it, then her cover would be lost and her true identity would be exposed.

Finally, the stairs ended with two large stone doors at the top of the staircase. Red prepared to open the doors when Dawn stopped him.

"You'd better let me do that Red" Dawn warned as she stepped past him, "You wouldn't want to go blind right?"

Dawn exerted great force through her arms to get the doors open, before finally, the doors swung open. For fear of being instantly blinded by the light, only Dawn bothered to look inside the chamber. It was a huge room with large pillars, hieroglyphs on all the walls, and the Sacred Light, sitting on a pedestal on the far side of the chamber.

Red, Ash and Lyra kept themselves pinned against the wall outside the room, as not to be tempted to look at the Sacred Light.

Careful as not to set off any pressure pad booby traps she assumed to be hidden in the ground, Dawn walked across the chamber and over to the Sacred Light. She crouched in front of it as to get a better look at what the riddle on it was and began to write it down on a notepad she pulled out of her bag. With the next riddle written down, Dawn tip toed across the floor and reunited with her friends again.

"I've got the riddle guys." Dawn said as she stepped out of the chamber.

"Cool, what did the Sacred Light look like?" Lyra asked, "And what does the riddle say?"

"You would like to know that wouldn't you?" Red asked very forcefully as he began advancing towards her. Lyra began stepping back in fear and Red continued walking towards her.

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked nervously, sweat sliding down her face.

"I bet that you would want to find the riddle so you can find the Palace of Light before we do" Red explained angrily.

"Red what're you talking about?" Dawn asked, shocked by Red's abrasiveness, "Why would she want to get to the Palace first if I'm the only one who can wake up Arceus?"

"So she can destroy the Palace to ensure Arceus can never awaken" Red continued as he kept forcing Lyra down the stairs.

"Red why would she do that?" Ash asked as forcefully as Red, ready to stand by Lyra, "That sounds like something Giratina would want"

"Exactly" Red answered.

"What're you talking about?" Lyra asked with great terror as she lowered her foot down to step onto the landing only to slip and fall to the ground.

"Are you saying that Lyra's Giratina is disguise?" Dawn asked her fellow native to Twinleaf Town.

"No" Red answered, "But isn't it interesting that Darkrai disappeared shortly after Kyurem appeared and then she appeared right after Kyurem attacked us?"

"What're you saying?" Ash asked as he stepped between Red and Lyra, glaring into his hero's eyes.

"I'm saying that 'Lyra' is actually Darkrai in disguise!" Red said as he pointed to her over Ash's shoulder.

"Red, Lyra can't be Darkrai in disguise" Dawn protested as she too stepped between Red and Lyra, "If she was I would've sensed Darkrai's power."

"Yeah and we could've sensed Darkrai's aura like we did with Kyurem." Ash added.

"But Darkrai's a master trickster, how do we know he didn't find a way to conceal his aura." Red theorized.

"Darkrai's not that powerful, aura is a life force, it can't be hidden." Dawn explained.

"Indeed it is a life force, but illusions can make even that seem invisible." A voice said to them from outside the Citadel.

The four Trainers and their Pokémon ran out to see the Red Gyarados in front of the massive gates to the capital building. Surprised to see the Red Gyarados conscious so soon, The trainers readied their Pokémon for combat. But at that moment, the Gyarados fell unconscious again. Its shadow began moving around, before something began to rise from it, Darkrai.

"Darkrai" Ash commented as Pikachu leap forward, sparks dancing from its cheeks.

"You never sensed my presence before Priestess? I must say, my illusions are far more powerful than even I assumed." Darkrai commented to himself.

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked, confronting the Pitch Black Pokémon for the first time.

"The so called, Kyurem that attacked you at sea, was me" Darkrai explained, "My Hypnosis is for more than interrogation. The storm was all an illusion and so was the damage to your ship. I merely needed to keep you busy for long enough for my Antimon to awaken the Red Gyarados."

"Did they burn it?" Dawn asked angrily.

"To enrage the beast and remind it who the destined ruler of reality is." Darkrai answered.

"You'll pay for that!" Red shouted before commanding his Pokémon, "Pika use Thunder!"

Pika fired a powerful blast of electric power from its entire body that flew straight towards Darkrai. However the nightmare master threw a Shadow Ball from his hand that hit the Thunder attack head on, dispersing it as it kept going and struck Pika in the chest, sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Piplup use Ice Beam! Pachirisu Discharge!" Dawn commanded both her Pokémon. Darkrai dodged all the attacks and fired a Dark Pulse from his hand that hit the ground between both Pokémon sending them flying.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as Pikachu fired an electric blast at Darkrai. The evil Pokémon dived into the shadows and evaded the attack but nor before rising again and firing another Dark Pulse that hit Pikachu head on.

Lyra watched the battle and realized that there was no way they could stop this Pokémon with a simple battle. Their small Pokémon was not enough to defeat Giratina's first lieutenant, they needed something far larger and even more devastating that even the mighty Darkrai, then she spotted the still unconscious Gyarados behind her. She knew what had to be done next, if it meant blowing her cover then so be it.

"Marill use your Water Gun to wake up Gyarados!" Lyra commanded.

"Are you insane Lyra?" Dawn asked before realizing what she said, "Don't answer that."

"Insane plans always work." Lyra explained as Marill fired a highly concentrated blast of water from its mouth that struck the Red Gyarados in the face.

The sudden shock of cold water shocked the atrocious Pokémon back into consciousness. As it reared its body up and looked down at the creatures below it, rage filled it once again as it let loose a terrifying roar that echoed through the entire cave.

"Now what's your plan?" Ash asked Lyra. To his surprise, Lyra reached into her pocket and pulled out a Capture Styler, an item only Pokémon Rangers use.

"Capture on!" Lyra shouted as she held out her hand towards the Red Gyarados and fired the Capture Disk out of the Styler. Lyra then used the Capture Line in the Styler and began drawing continual circles in the air, which guided the disk to move around the Red Gyarados.

"What are you doing?" Darkrai asked horrified as he began charging towards her, "Stop!"

Darkrai soon found himself being held in one place, unable to even move. Gathering every ounce of his strength, Darkrai moved his head and eyes to look behind himself and see that Vee was using Psychic to hold him still.

According to the counter on Lyra's Capture Styler, she had drawn thirty five circles in the air before finally the circles subsided with the rage of the Red Gyarados.

"Alright, you just captured the Red Gyarados!" Ash commented.

"That's right" Lyra said joyfully, before turning stern, "Now Gyarados, attack Darkrai!"

Vee halted its Psychic attack and Darkrai fell to the ground. He looked up and to his horror, his gaze was met by the vengeful eyes of the Red Gyarados. Darkrai, master of fear, ruler of nightmares, had never felt as afraid as he was at that moment. His cold withered heart began to beat very rapidly and his eyes quivered with terror as the beast prepared to use its Hyper Beam.

"We'd better get out of here." Ash commented with mild happiness.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Dawn asked everyone, "Our submarine was destroyed."

"We can use the Team Rocket submarine." Lyra suggested.

"There's no way they'll let us take their ship" Ash objected, "And we can't just take it from them."

"I think we can" Red responded, "If Dawn and Lyra give me their PokéBalls."


	12. The Final Riddle

Jessie, James and Meowth scrambled to get back into their submarine. Frantically, they raced for the bike pedals and prepared to take off.

"Let's get out of here!" Jessie shouted as she jumped for the front pedals.

"I don't care where we go." James added.

"As long as it's out of this crazy place!" Meowth finished.

"Not so fast" a voice called to them from behind. The trio looked behind them to see Ash, Red, Dawn and Lyra standing in the submarine. The three Team Rocket agents jumped out of their seats in terror. It was not so much being outnumbered that they were afraid of, as much as Red alone. They had heard the stories of his continual clashes against Team Rocket's most vicious agents and even Giovanni. Every time, he emerged victorious. Because of his battles against the criminal gang, every Team Rocket agent feared him and prayed to never meet with him.

"What're you doing in here?!" Jessie asked half horrified.

"We're commandeering your submarine." Red warned. Without any kind of hesitation, the trio sprung out of their seats with fake smiles on their faces.

"Of course, it's all yours." James offered.

"Yeah and the seats have been preheated." Meowth added.

"Yeah right" Lyra commented, "You three are going to drive this thing."

"Fat chance talkative twerp!" Jessie spat back. Red simply glared at her and flashed the PokéBalls on his belt, four of which were Dawn's and Lyra's.

"Are you sure about that?" Red asked threateningly.

A few hours of pedalling, and the Team Rocket trio finally made it to the surface, right next to Princess Salvia's yacht. Red opened the hatch and sent Dawn out first, followed by the Team Rocket trio, then Ash, Lyra and then himself.

"You guys made it" May said as she was the first to greet them.

"But what're they doing here?" Max asked as he pointed to the Rocket trio.

"They're our prisoners." Red explained, "I'll take them to the brig."

"This is a yacht, we don't have a brig" Salvia explained. This put quite a damper on the mood Red had set, but her was prepared.

"Then I'll lock them in the storage closet, you guys decipher the riddle" Red explained as he lead the trio down the side of the ship.

"Looks like Team Rocket's locked up again." The trio all said at once.

"The ship's repairs have been finished so we're ready to take off as soon as Dawn reads the riddle."

"Before I read it, Lyra has something to say." Dawn explained. All eyes then turned to their new recruit as she began to explain herself.

"Okay, the truth is, I've been operating undercover" Lyra explained as she pulled out her Capture Styler from her pocket, "As part of the Pokémon Rangers."

"The Pokémon Rangers?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, you guys put up quite a stir at the Marina" Lyra answered, "We immediately went to investigate and I was ordered to follow the trail of conflicts like this, until I found you guys in a Pokémon Center close to Sky Pillar explaining the monuments and Rayquaza and Kyurem, which caught my attention."

"Why didn't you tell us?" May asked.

"I wasn't at liberty to discuss my mission with anyone." Lyra answered, "But I'm sorry for keeping this a secret, I've had a great time with you guys and if you're willing to allow me to accompany you, I'll follow you into the unknown."

At that moment, Lyra then broke out into a heartfelt song.

_You must always remember:_

_Life can be a challenge  
Life can seem impossible  
It's never easy when so much  
Is on the line_

_But you can make a difference  
With courage you can set things right  
The gift to dream and make dreams real  
Is yours and mine_

_The power of one  
Begins with believing  
It starts in the heart,  
Then flows through the soul  
And changes the world  
Imagine how life will be  
When we stand in unity  
Each of us holds the key  
To the power of one_

_Each of us is chosen  
There's a mission just for you  
Just look inside, you'll be surprised  
What you can do_

_The power of one  
Begins with believing  
It starts in the heart,  
Then flows through the soul  
And changes the world  
Imagine how life will be  
When we stand in unity  
Each of us holds the key  
To the power of one_

_Then one by one  
We can make the world  
A much better place_

_The power of one  
Begins with believing  
It starts in the heart,  
Then flows through the soul  
And changes the world  
Imagine how life will be  
When we stand in unity  
Each of us holds the key  
It's inside of you and me  
Each of us holds the key  
To the power of one_

_The power of one_

After hearing how much care Lyra put into her song. They knew it was a symbol of how much she wanted to be a part of this adventure. She had already proven her medal by risking her life to stop a Red Gyarados and defeat Darkrai. To be a part on the quest to save reality was all that she wanted and her caring eyes proved it. At that moment they came to a unified agreement.

"You're in" Red said as he reunited with the others, "Now Dawn, what does the riddle say?"

Dawn pulled out her notepad and began to read from it, "This is the last riddle, this one will lead us straight to the Palace of Light: A canvas cannot become art without its emotion, and those emotions sit upon me waiting for your inspiration. There you will find the Palace of Light at the center of Arceus."

This riddle seemed to be the most complex of them all. For Ash, the part about a canvas seemed to stand out most of all. The emotions a canvas needed to become art obviously had to be paint. But for the life of him he could not remember the name of what the item paint laid on was called. When he asked his friends what it was, May's answer rocked Ash to his core.

"It's called a pallet" May answered.

At that split second, the location of the Palace of Light came to him. A small town in the Kanto Region that had existed for over a thousand years. Coincidentally, it was where he was born.

"Pallet Town." Ash said to himself.


	13. The Vison

The night reached its climax and May still had yet to sleep. She sat in her bed, looking at her upper left arm. Where she had the scar of an Antimon claw. Its venom once coursed through her veins and brought her inches from death. It took Dawn's power to save her. Though she was spared the hand of death, the wound never fully healed, it left its scar.

After the attack at sea, it began to burn. The pain seemed to get even worse after they uncovered the final riddle. May's scar came to the point that she could not put any weight on it or she would scream in pain. She lay on her right side and did her best to drift to sleep, but before she could sleep, she was already dreaming. Her dream was nothing short of an unbearable nightmare.

_May found herself inside of a giant temple, aged by the force of time. She was surrounded by her friends who were looking up in terror at something she was turned away from._

_ "Guys, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. They did not respond to her._

_ "Guys?" She asked once more, again they ignored her._

_ "What's wrong?" She approached Dawn to put her hand on her shoulder, only for it to pass right through. May then realized that she was in a nightmare. She began looking frantically at the environment around her. _

_ Her gaze stopped when she saw a massive Pokémon, standing over a smaller Pokémon, with one of its six feet on its head. She recognized the victorious Pokémon from the scrolls, Giratina and his defeated was a Pokémon she also recognized from the scrolls, Arceus._

_ May was terrified, the nightmare obviously depicted their quest reaching its end and Giratina winning. She wished for something to happen that could wake her from this terror._

_ "This is the future" Giratina's rumbling voice said from everywhere as opposed to his body, "War is coming."_

_ May was so overwhelmed by fear, she got down onto the ground and covered her ears like a child._

_ "I'm not listening!" May screamed, "I won't let you deceive me again!"_

_ "Death will come to all!" Giratina's voice roared._

_ May could not hold back her fear any longer and screamed in fear was a black void began to consume her._

May's eyes snapped open and she found herself back on Salvia's yacht. She looked around before she finally accepted that this was the real world. May felt something on her shoulder and looked to see it was Dawn's hand, as she and Lyra were standing next to her. The young priestess looked at May with a very worried expression on her face.

"Are you okay May?" Dawn asked, "You looked like you were in a trance."

"A trance?" May repeated curious and nervous.

"Yeah, you were just staring off into space with a blank expression on your face." Lyra explained.

May pieced together what had just transpired in her mind. She found it difficult to believe, but it was the most logical assumption.

"I think I just had a vision." May realized.

"A vision?" Lyra repeated.

"What did you see?" Dawn asked, what she hoped for was the end of their quest, with a happy ending.

May once again hesitated to answer. Every time she was confronted by Giratina, he brought her nothing but doom and misery. She could not let Dawn know this as she thought it would deter the priestess from her destiny.

"It's not important." May answered, "The Red Eclipse is in a week, we have to find the Palace of Light before then."

"I agree" Lyra decided, "Let's get some sleep."

The Omega Priestess and the Pokémon Ranger left May's room, to return to their own. Before Dawn left the room, she gave May one last suspicious look before closing the door.

May laid back in her bed. Tears slipped down her face as she remembered the horrors of her visions. She knew what it meant, they were heading into an inferno. As she laid in bed, there was only one thing she felt she could say.

"Is that our fate? Are we really doomed to fail?"

Special thanks to madrigalprincess1 for her advice


End file.
